I have spent many years trying to develop my inner self. It has not been easy. Overcoming my fears, inhibitions and inertia was difficult, but the effort has been worth it and I believe I live my life to its full potential. But how can I teach my child to live life to the full?

The search for self improvement is full of self doubt. I have spent years exploring many avenues and techniques; not all lead to anywhere meaningful. However, some things I learnt have helped me enormously. But I’m not confident that I have found the right answers. Other people I know have found great benefit from techniques and practices that were of no help to me. Likewise, what I find beneficial, others may not.

Meeting and falling in love with my wife was the best thing that has ever happened to me. The birth of our son brought us great joy. But as we settled into parenting, I became more and more worried about my ability to teach my son about the right approach to live life. I didn’t want him to spend years, in later life, searching, as I had done, for answers as to how best to live life. I didn’t want his life constrained like so many people’s lives are today.

I had so many questions about the correct ‘life coaching plan’ I should use. How old should he be before I began teaching him techniques that I had learnt? What approach should I take? And were the techniques and practices I had learnt suitable for him? Did I have the ability to teach others?

It was my wife who provided the answer. Actually, we had a row. I was fretting, as usual, about our son, when my wife screamed at me to ‘give it a rest!’ When I retorted that I only wanted to help our child, she replied that it was me who wanted help and that our son needed no help at all. In fact, she said, if I continued like this, one thing was certain: our son would certainly spend many years as an adult, trying to sort out his life.

She was right of course. From that point on, I began to really observe my child and I began to realize that he had ‘no issues’ to sort out, no inhibitions, inertia, or self doubt. He’s a dynamo, who is constantly exploring the world around him. He’s always himself; he’s in touch with his real, inner-self.

I have nothing to teach him. Sure, I can teach him to cross the road, walk down stairs holding the hand-rail and how to ride a bike. But I have nothing to teach him on how to live life. He’s doing it all by himself. He’s my teacher, and a good one at that.

Robin O’Brien is founder and editor of www.selfimprovementtechniques.com and www.winchester-tourist-information.com

CHOOSING G-D

At sunset on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, G-d**
will remove some of his light from the world. He will still
remain present in a basic way, of course, or the world could not
sustain itself. But that presence will be remote, withdrawn.

Then He will wait. The next move is ours.

At around midday of the holy day, when Jews in every corner of
the world acknowledge His sovereignty with prayers and the
blowing of the shofar, G-d will once again agree to be our King.
He will recommit to His relationship with our world. And when He
does so, it will be with an entirely new level of light and
power. Entirely new possibilities - possibilities that never
existed before - will enter the world. We will advance one giant
step closer to our ultimate destiny.

But the first move has to come from us. We must renew our
contract with our Creator if the world is to continue to exist.

Once each year, the world must choose G-d.

FROM TEARS TO TRANSFORMATION

Why the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn? What power does
this primitive instrument have to bring down such an intense and
essential light?

More than a simple horn, the shofar is an instrument of
transformation. Its sound is like a heartbroken cry, and its
power is the power of tears.

Living in a physical world, subject to the many stresses and
challenges of life on earth and subjugated to the relentless
demands of our body and our ego, we are not even remotely aware
of our own true potential. Our soul, with all of its unlimited
awareness, insight, creativity, love and power, is trapped and
suppressed.

But when our defenses break down, when we come face to face with
our essential smallness and vulnerability within this vast
universe, we cry out to G-d.

And this cry - this intense awareness of our own limitations -
is what sets us free. A broken-hearted cry can release your soul
from its prison and leave you open to something completely new.

This freedom, not coincidentally, is also connected with the
trumpet-blast of the shofar. In fact, it is the blast of ‘the
great shofar’ - the shofar of Redemption - that will herald our
ultimate freedom and transformation at the End of Days.

Weakness and power. Smallness and greatness. Isolation and
Unity. Slavery and freedom. How do they go together? And how is
it that the very same sound can symbolize both?

A WORLD OF OPPOSITES

Kabbbalah explains that everything that exists is made up of two
polar opposites. The opposite of darkness is light. The opposite
of evil is good. The opposite of death is life. The opposite of
slavery is freedom. Wherever one is found, so is its opposite.
They define each other. Without one, the other could not exist.

However, these negative states have no intrinsic reality.
Darkness is not a permanent condition. Just like the first step
in throwing a ball is to move the arm backwards, the darkness is
actually a prelude, a gateway, to a far more powerful light.

That’s why tears can be so transformational. Paradoxically, it
is only in realizing our smallness, weakness and aloneness - the
limits of our ego-based existence - that we create an opening to
expand beyond our perceived limits and become who we were truly
born to be.

This possibility for transformation is intensely present on Rosh
Hashana, when the world begins anew.

ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLD

On this Rosh Hashana, in the year 5766, transformation is not
only more possible but more necessary than ever before, not only
for Jews but for the entire world.

Every year on Rosh Hashana the world waits, suspended in the
dark space between the old light and the new. Between two ways
of being there is always an empty space, a space of transition.
In this space we have the opportunity to let go of the old - the
pettiness, the resentments, the past mistakes, failures and
fears. We can embrace a brand new way of being; a more
passionate sense of purpose. We can commit ourselves to a new
level of kindness, respect and compassion for the people around
us - those we already love, and those we could love if we
stopped being angry or afraid.

In opening ourselves to life, we create the greatest possible
opening for G-d to inscribe us in the Book of Life for a year
that is good and sweet in the truest sense.

But on this Rosh Hashana the world waits at the threshold of
Redemption. In these unprecedented times an intense level of
darkness hovers over the earth. Our world is shaking. Terror,
war, mind-numbing natural disasters and crisis in the Middle
East cast a threatening shadow over our lives. These times are
frightening and challenging. But this darkness is nothing more
or less than the gateway to an entirely new level of light - a
new reality.

OUR TIMES IN ANCIENT PROPHECY

These chaotic times were foreseen in great detail millennia ago
by the sages of biblical times. A full discussion of these
prophecies is way beyond the scope of this article. But read the
words below and see whether or not you think they describe our
world today:

Insolence and self-centeredness will increase, there will be
oppressing inflation, people will be addicted to the good life
and the costs will be high, moral standards will dissolve,
morality and wisdom will be denigrated, there will be unbridled
irresponsibility on the part of authorities, centers of learning
will turn into centers of immorality, poverty will increase, the
young will denigrate the old, families will disintegrate,
leadership will be impudent. The world will see a succession of
troubles, epidemics of terrible diseases, and international
confrontations. The face of the generation will be ‘like the
face of a dog’. Just as dogs are not embarrassed by anything
they do, so too people will lose their sense of embarrassment.

THE GREATER THE DARKNESS, THE GREATER THE LIGHT

Against this challenging, chaotic backdrop, we are being called
upon to expand beyond our boundaries, to strengthen our
relationship with our Creator and to actualize our own potential
as partners in Creation.

We are living through the time of transition between exile and
Redemption. Out of the breakdown of the old and unworkable, we
have the opportunity to create something completely new.

In fact, it is our destiny.

ROSH HASHANA: IT’S YOUR CHOICE

This Rosh Hashana each one of us has a choice. We can choose to
stay unconscious, trapped within the prison of our fears,
confusion, resentments and longings, remaining passive victims
of circumstance. Or we can use this opportunity to begin to fly.
To align ourselves with our destiny. To learn to be free.

Freedom is a lofty concept, but it’s lived in the choices you
make each moment. In your relationships. In your spirituality.
In your commitment to a life of joy and fulfillment. In your
awareness of G-d’s nurturing presence in the intimate details of
your daily life. In remembering that you’re here for a purpose
and being willing to do something each day to make that purpose
come alive.

If you could create a new future, one not based on your fears
and past failures, who would you be? How would you behave? What
would you dare to create? Who would you thank? Who would you
listen to and what would you share? What would you do to enhance
your connection to G-d and your own essence? What part of you
that you’ve given up on would you start to nurture? What dreams
might you make come true?

Rosh Hashana holds within it an awesome power. The light of the
past is withdrawn and the light of the future has yet to come
down into the world and into your life. The Book is open. What
will you choose?

© Shifra Hendrie www.KabbalahOfTransformation.com

**Since the Torah forbids the erasing of G-d’s name, it’s
customary to avoid writing it out in full

Choosing which hardwood to put on your floor can be one of the
biggest decisions that you will face when building or renovating
your home. There are many different and often difficult
decisions to make for your floor. Some of them include: What
thickness to go with? Non-finished, Pre-finished, or Engineered
wood? How wide of a plank to go with? What will look the best
with the doors, paint, cabinets, tile/carpets? What grade to
choose? A great place to start is with a story board or samples
of color and textures surrounding the floor.

Some of the benefits of hardwood flooring through out the home
includes durability, a large variety, easy to maintain,
hypo-allergenic, environmentally friendly, natural, stylish and
eye pleasing, and worth every penny! With our health conscience
society, people realize that carpet is a health hazard to the
allergenic individual. Carpets collect dust, mites, bugs, and
many other unclean things that are not good for the body.
Hardwood flooring is definitely the floor to install.

Market trends towards choosing which hardwood floor is a
consistently evolving process. The consumers of hardwood floors
in North America only used to buy unfinished hardwood, now they
are buying pre-finished hardwood, and slowly moving into the
engineered hardwood floors. Much of this trend shifting comes
from the supply and demand curve. As the prices of the higher
end products come down, the demand goes up. Most everyone enjoys
having the newest and brightest thing on the market and when
affordability is a factory people want to buy the products.

So what is next for the Hardwood flooring industy? They have
already come out with a blended choice of any tree out on the
market to make a floor out of. These include Bamboo hardwood
flooring, Cork hardwood flooring, etc. The bottom line is
choosing the best hardwood flooring for your home is a difficult
decision and needs to be thought out carefully. Consult with a
professional in colors and textures and perhaps it will be and
easier decision.

Most of the times you fail to tally your expenses with your income. You might require a home improvement; buying a new car can turn to be the top most priority. Whatever be the reason, the bottom line is that you need extra funds. The best sources via which you can raise some extra funds are Personal Loans. Insufficient funds and sky reaching expenses have always forced individuals to use Personal Loans. Personal Loans are the best ways to raise extra funds. It is one of the easiest ways via which you can avail the things you want, more within your means. With a Personal Loan you can also turn your outstanding debts into a single, easy to manage monthly payment.

In recent years because of the financial boom taking up a Personal Loan has become one of the most mundane features. Personal Loans are widely available in UK lending market as per your requirements. Personal Loans available through banks and financial institutions acts as a steady source of funds to a wide number of borrowers in the UK.

Generally, there are two versions of Personal Loans: Secured Personal Loans and Unsecured Personal Loans. Like any other type of secured loan, a Secured Personal Loan is usually secured on your home. On the other hand, an Unsecured Personal Loan is not secured on your home, which forces the lender to charge a higher rate of interest as compared to secured ones. This very feature of Unsecured Personal Loan eliminates the risk of repossession of your home by the lender, if you fail to repay your loan. Secured Personal Loans are mostly restricted to home owners whereas Unsecured Personal Loans is available to both home owners and non homeowners.

Whether Secured or Unsecured, you should consider any of them only after being satisfied that it perfectly matches with your present financial circumstances and requirements. The best way to secure the best Personal Loan deal is by shopping around and comparing what’s on offer from several providers. The best way to save time while shopping around for Personal Loans is by doing it online. You will be able to check out a wide variety of lenders in this way in amore convenient and fast manner.

It is advisable for you to avoid taking up Personal Loans from unknown small firms, instead you should stick to well known lenders as some of the small firms might charge you heavy ‘redemption penalties’ if you want to pay the loan off early. Reputable lenders generally charge penalties of not more than two months’ interest for early repayment and some don’t charge at all.

Personal Loans are also available to people who have a credit history which is less than perfect. So, if you are worried because of CCJs, Defaults, Arrears, steer clear of your doubts. Your bad credit history can’t debar you from availing Personal Loans.

Personal Loans are available to almost everybody. However, it is always recommended to take a hard look at your financial requirements and circumstances before deciding on the loan. Make sure to clear all your doubts about the loan type, the loan amount, the loan term and the rate of interest before applying for a Personal Loan.

For Related Info on Personal Loans Visit http://www.easy-loans-shop.co.uk

Bob came into your store at 5:55 pm. I know, he should
know better. You close up shop at 6:00pm and why should
you allow a customer to disturb the staff when
they are cleaning up and closing out the register?

Poor Bob. He is just too “thick” to get it. This guy
walks in after rushing right from the job site to
arrive at your meat market in time to buy chicken for
dinner. In fact, Bob does this every two weeks.

Bob gets his paycheck on Tuesday, scurries to
the bank during lunch break on Wednesday and by 5:55pm he
is standing at the counter in your shop ready to pay for 10
chicken breasts, 4 steaks, 24 turkey sausages, 2 meat pies, 2
lamb chops and some marinade. Throw in another 12
steak burgers and you have his order. About every two
weeks Bob spends around $150+ at your meat market and he
feels like you are a part of his routine, and a meaningful
thread in his social network. He’s even brought in
chocolates during the holiday seasons for the “lovely lasses”
toshare.

You’ve become acquainted with Bob quite well over the past
fouryears and, of course, you appreciate his business.

But then you hired Sherri. Sherri has to catch her bus
at 6:05pm or wait an extra 20 minutes for the next
one. So Sherri removes her apron, has her purse in one hand
and her key is primed in the other, and she is ready to leave
at 5:55pm.

For the last couple of months she has barely
tolerated the stragglers at 5:45pm, but she thinks
that Bob’s presence with only 5 minutes to
spare until closing, is in her words, abusive.

She has told Bob repeatedly that customers that come
in late really “tick her off” and that she doesn’t
appreciate their rudeness. Bob agreed with her that
people can beinconsiderate, never once thinking she
referred to him. He thought doing business with you
and your staff makes you all happy.

Finally, this Week Bob get’s it and get’s it good.
Sherri made it abundantly clear to Bob that if he
wants service, he needs to be there by 5:30pm. “Bob,
I have a life outside this meat market! Why don’t you
come in on Saturday during the afternoon?”

Bob may be a bit thick, it may take him time to catch the mood,
but he has definitely “heard” Sherri today. And guess
what, Bob is offended. Bob, the $3600 a year customer,
has been chased off the property by the minimum wage
customer service staff.

Business owner, if you own a store or run an office
service, this has probably happened to your Bob or Mary at
some point in time.

Don’t you wonder how may times?

Well, Bob left the store in a quandary. He thought to
himself that he actually went out of his way to shop at
your store, but then again he likes you. Bob believes in
supporting the underdog, the little guy. His dad had owned
a Bakery when he was a kid. He knew how tough it could be
trying to compete in the superstore environment.

But this week he bought a steak on Monday
at This Way Grocers and some chicken at Eat More on
Thursday. He is out of rhythm and frustrated, but Bob’s not
coming back.

Store owners need to pay attention. Pay your staff the
extra 30 minutes if necessary, so that customers
always “feel” valued. Take time to teach your team
that without the customer, none of them have a paycheck.

Teach your staff how to treat a customer, and be the
first one to let the staff know when they do it right.
Praise them, encourage them, reward them and
compensate them fairly.

The staff are there when you are not. They are the
message you send to the people who drive across
town to shop from you.

Why not take a few moments, grab a coffee, and make
a list. On the left side: the names of your staff.
On the right side of the paper: what they say. Not
only the words they use, but the body language, the tone,
and the energy they exude. After each name write these
words:

“This is what I say to my customers,(Bob) when they shop in
my store and are served by my staff.”

Now take a look at your behavior. What do your actions tell
your customers? Write down the messages you think you deliver, and what you would hope to deliver. Is there any disparity? What can you do about it?

The competition is plenteous. In no time Bob will form
new buying habits and you won’t ever see him in your
store again. That may be only $300 a month you lose
this month, but it won’t take long before your bottom
line is aching from the deadly blow of customer
payback.

That is dire news. But it gets worse yet. You were out
delivering wholesale product when it happened.
You don’t know why you don’t see Bob anymore and
Sherri isn’t talking! Unless you have a customer service
strategy in place, with a regular way of communicating
with your clientele, you have no way of bringing Bob
back into your store. How many Bob’s can you afford to
lose?

Harmony Thiessen is a business strategist for small business. Harmony has consulted and taught on business and marketing strategies for over 20 years and owns several businesses herself. Her website http://www.smartmarketingsense.com offers subscribers complimentary business strategy and marketing tips. You can reach Harmony at harmony@smartmarketingsense.com

[Herndon, VA] gomembers, Inc., (http://www.gomembers.com) announced this week that the College and University Professional Association in HR (CUPA-HR: http://www.cupahr.org) has selected the extraweb online module to complement their pinnacle association management software solution.

“The extraweb module will allow CUPA-HR to provide its members and constituents with a host of online services, including membership processing and meetings registration. Internet integration will improve member services while reducing operational costs,” states Jay Barrett, Vice President of Operations for gomembers. “A true win-win situation has been the result of utilizing integrated technology.”

For more information on gomembers’ solutions, please visit the Products section of our website: www.gomembers.com

For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact gomembers via email at: gomembers-inc@gomembers.com

gomembers, Inc.
gomembers is a leading provider of software solutions for membership, meetings and management of member-based organizations. gomembers’ software and technology enable its customers to automate a number of enterprise resource planning, member relationship management, transaction processing and member-to-member communications functions in a single software platform with seamless inter-processing of data across all applications.

gomembers’ membership, meeting, event planning and related solutions are used to improve operating efficiencies, enhance member services and enable interaction with and between members. Meeting and convention planning software products enable customers to coordinate virtually all of the required functions for complete event management. All gomembers’ products are built using the latest technology including Microsoft’s .NET framework.

gomembers sells its solutions through a direct sales force and provides a wide range of customizations, training and support service to their customers.

For more information on gomembers’ solutions, please visit the Products section of our website. www.gomembers.com

About the Author

None

There are so many people who have an urgent need for money. You
may be one of them. The need may arise any time. Most of us do
not have sufficient savings to use during these times. This is
where a loan can help you. You can take out a loan from a bank,
a building society or a private lender.

Loans are broadly classified as secured and unsecured loans.
Secured loans are given against the security of a property. The
property guarantees the repayment of loan. The lender may
repossess and sell off the property if the borrower defaults.
There are several benefits of secured loans such as low rate of
interest, small amount of monthly payments, flexible repayment
terms, etc.

In spite of these benefits of secured loans, there has been a
rise in the popularity of
unsecured loans . This is because there are so many
people who do not own a house. Tenants and those who live with
their parents cannot obtain secured loans. Unsecured loans
are a boon for such people. They can fulfill their needs
and see their dream coming true by taking out an unsecured loan.

Personal loan business is expanding like anything. Lenders have
realized that there is a huge untapped market of personal loans.
Personal loans are usually unsecured and can be used for a
number of purposes. You need to show your income proof to obtain
a personal loan. The amount of loan depends upon your income.
Personal loans can be used for a number of purposes
such as home improvement, debt consolidation, to pay for a
holiday trip, to buy a household item, etc.

You can find an unsecured loan of your choice over the
internet. There are many lenders who offer loans online. Many
introducers and brokers help you find a lender over the
internet. The online loan application process is fast and
simple. All you need to do is to provide the information
regarding your requirements and the lender may offer you an
unsecured loan that meets your needs.

With more and more countries around the world passing laws about blind and disabled access to the Internet (including the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK), web accessibility has been thrown into the spotlight of the online community. This article attempt to put a stop to the misinformation that has been thrown around and tell you the truth behind web accessibility.

1. Creating a text-only equivalent is sufficient

Creating a separate text-only equivalent can lead to a number of problems:

- A text-only version is not necessarily accessible

- Two versions of the same website represents a huge time and money investment for you

- Your primary site may not be accessible to many users

- An ‘extra’ accessible website for blind and disabled users can be one more way to make them feel marginalised from mainstream society

Web accessibility isn’t just about blind and disabled Internet users being able to use your site - it’s about everyone being able to access it successfully. It really doesn’t have to take very much time or money to make your website accessible.

2. It’s complicated and expensive to make my website accessible

To develop an accessible website from scratch will cost virtually the same as to develop a website that isn’t accessible. A very large, highly inaccessible website may take a bit more time and money to fix up, although the basic layout and design usually need not change.

Web accessibility is not complicated and anyone with basic web design skills can easily implement it.

3. Accessible and attractive web design can’t go together

Many advocates of web accessibility tend to have rather dull, unattractive websites. This is unfortunate, as web accessibility need not affect the design of the website in any way whatsoever. To fully dispel this myth, have a look at the CSS Zen Garden ( http://www.csszengarden.com ) - a beautiful website offering 100% accessibility.

4. Accessible websites stifle creativity

Web accessibility actually places very few restrictions on website design. In fact, as with regular websites, you’re only really limited by your imagination when creating accessible websites. Have a look at the CSS Zen Garden ( http://www.csszengarden.com ) to see for yourself that accessibility doesn’t have to affect creativity in any way.

5. My site visitors don’t have a problem accessing my website

Not necessarily. See Benefits of an accessible website - part 1 ( http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/benefits-of-accessible-websites-1.shtml ) to see just how many Internet users you may be excluding from your site. You can be sure that with 35 million websites to choose from it’s unlikely that a site visitor prevented from accessing your website is going to waste his time contacting you to ask you to fix the problem.

6. Web accessibility places restrictions on the web page design

Not at all. As with regular websites, you’re only limited by your imagination when creating accessible websites. Text size can be as large or as small you like (provided it’s resizable), you can use any colour scheme you like (provided colour isn’t the only way you differentiate information) and you can use as many images as you like (provided an alternative description is provided).

These accessibility provisos mostly happen behind the scenes and don’t affect the presentation of the website.

7. Blind and disabled people don’t use the Internet

On the contrary, blind and disabled people benefit from the Internet perhaps more than anyone else.

For example, visually impaired people have to phone up a supermarket when they want to go shopping to inform them of their arrival. When they get there, a store assistant will accompany them around the store. Through accessible websites blind people can now shop at home, and in their own time.

Conclusion

Web accessibility isn’t brain science. It’s not just about disabled users being able to access your website - it’s about everyone being able to access your website, including people using handheld devices, WebTV and in-car browsers. Any web developer with basic HTML and CSS design knowledge, and a bit of time on their hands, can easily learn and implement web accessibility.

Trenton Moss is crazy about web accessibility and usability - so crazy that he went and started his own web accessibility and usability consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

Regardless of how you look at it, the most important aspect of
any successful business is its advertising. In fact,
the success of any business is largely dependent on good advertising.

First of all, you’ve got to have a dynamic, spectacular ad that
attracts the eye and grabs the interest of the people you’re
trying to sell to. Thus, unless your ad really “jumps out” at the
reader, your sales won’t live up to expectations, and your ad
money will be wasted.

The eye-catching appeal of your ad must start with the headline.
Use the headline to very quickly create a picture in the minds of
the reader–a vision of all their problems being solved, and
attainment of the kind of happiness they seek. If your headline
fails to catch the attention of your prospect, you cannot hope to
capture him with the remaining of the ad, because it will go
unread! So in writing your advertisement for just a little while,
so you must quickly interest him in your offer, show him how he
can get what he wants, and then cause him to send immediately for
your “solution” to his problems. Your copy must exude enthusiasm,
excitement, and a positive attitude. Don’t be afraid to use a
hard-sell approach! Say what you feel and believe about your
offer. And use common, “everyday,” but correct English.

Even so, you can and must remember to be honest. Don’t exaggerate
or make claims you can’t back up. Never make promises you cannot
or don’t expect, to keep. To do so could get you in trouble with
the Federal Trade and Fair Practices people.

Stress the benefits of your product or service. Explain to your
reader how owning a copy of your book (for instance), or
receiving your services will make his life richer, happier, and
more abundant. Don’t get involved in detailing all the money
you’ve spent developing the product or researching the
information you’re selling, or you’re selling, or your
credentials for offering it. Stress the “sizzle” and the value of
ownership.

It is important to involve th reader as often as possible through
the use of the word “you.” Write your copy just as if you were
speaking to and attempting to sell just ONE person. Don’t let
your ad sound as a speaker at a podium addressing a huge stadium
filled with people, but as if there were just one individual
“listening.”

And don’t try to be overly clever, brilliant or humerus in your
advertising. Keep your copy simple, to the point, and on target
toward selling your prospect the product or service because of
its benefits. In other words, keep it simple, but clear; at all
costs, you don’t want to confuse the reader. Just tell him
exactly what he’ll get for his money; the benefits he’ll receive;
how to go about ordering it. You don’t have to get too friendly.
In fact, becoming “folksy,” and don’t use slang expressions.

In writing an ad, think of yourself as a door-to-door
salesperson. You have to get the attention of the prospect
quickly, interest him in the product you’re selling, create a
desire to enjoy its benefits, and you can then close the sale.

Copywriting, whether for a display ad, classified ad, sales
letter or brochure, is a learned skill. It is one anyone can
master with a bit of study, practice, and perhaps some
professional guidance.

Your first move, then, is to study your competition, recognize
how they are selling their wares. Practice rewriting their ads
from a different point of view or from a different sales angle.
Keep a file of ads you’ve clipped from different publications in
a file of ad writing ideas. But don’t copy anyone else’s work;
just use the ad material of others to stimulate your own
creativeness.

Some of the “unknown facts” about advertising–and ad writing in
particular–tell us that you cannot ask for more than $3 in a
short classified type ad. Generally speaking, a $5 item will take
at least a one-inch display ad. If you’re trying to sell a $10
item, you’ll need at least a quarter page–perhaps even a half
page of copy–and $15 to $20 items require a full page. If you
are selling a really big ticket item (costing $50 or more) you’ll
need a four-page sales letter, a brochure, separate order coupon,
and return reply envelope.

If you’re making offers via direct mail, best to get into the
postal system with it on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, to be sure it
does not arrive on Monday, the first and busiest day of the week.
And again, unless you’re promoting a big ticket item, the quality
or color of your paper won’t have any great effect on the
response you’ll get, but the quality of your PRINTING definitely
will, so bear this in mind when you place your printing order.

One final point to remember: The summer months when people are
most apt to be away on vacation are usually not good months for
direct mail. But they ARE good for opportunity and advertisements
in publications often found in vacation areas, and in motels and
hotels.

Again, it cannot be stressesd too much or often: Success in business does, indeed, depend upon advertising,
and as with anything else, quality pays off in the long run. Read this report again;
study it; let it sink in. Then apply the principles outlined in
it. They have worked for others, and THEY CAN WORK FOR YOU!

Copyright by DeAnna Spencer 2004
This article may be reproduced freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.

Are you content with your advertising budget?
Schedule a coaching session with Frugal Solutions Expert, DeAnna Spencer.
She will design an affordable online advertising plan for you.
Contact her by sending an email to deanna.spencer(at)gmail.com
Visit this small business resource for more information.

You’ve probably read 1000 times that “the money’s in the list.” If you’re an Internet or email marketer, that’s only partly true. The truth is that the money is in properly written emails, that get delivered to your list members. That last part is what most online marketers are missing!

An article in the June 2004 issue of Time Magazine reported that 40% to 70% of email sent to the four major ISPs is deleted at the server. Those ISPs are MSN (including Hotmail), Yahoo, Earthlink and AOL. That simply means that there’s a very good chance that your legitimate email is not getting through to those subscribers using those ISPs.

The bottom line for you and I as email marketers is that building huge opt-in lists, seeking JVs, or publishing an ezine is largely futile, unless you correct the above problem first.

So how do you correct the problem? Many people who send emails know that many ISPs score emails as they arrive at the server. Email that scores above a certain score is identified as probable spam, and is deleted. So, many of us go through our email messages before sending them out and delete or modify trigger words.

I’ll let you in on a big secret. Most of the words that you see cleverly disguised (often with extra spaces or characters) aren’t what causes most of the problem. It’s combinations of words that causes the problem. It’s those combinations of words and a few other major mistakes that gets your email killed.

To find out what those major mistakes are, you can get a free report called “The 21 Deadliest Spam Filter Violations” here:

http://myQuickPayPro.com/qpp.cgi?adminid=3054&id=91007

The typical ezine that I see makes over half of these mistakes every issue. Does yours?

There are two major things that you can do to avoid having your emails “eaten” by the filters.

The first one is to have your list members “white list” you or add you to their address book when they first subscribe. Right on your confirmation page, instruct them to add your from email address to their address book or to their approved list. How they do this is different for each ISP. Generally adding the from name and/or email address to their address book or approved list will do the trick. Also tell them to periodically look through their junk email folder to confirm that your email is getting through. If they want what you’re sending them, they will do this. Often moving an email into the inbox will cause the system to stop filtering your email too.

You can also tell new list members to do this in the confirmation email, but that’s a little late, since they may never get that email.

The second thing you can do is run every email that you plan on broadcasting (or even some personal emails) through a system that scores the email. Email above some magic score (around 5 at many ISPs) is guaranteed to be deleted.

There are a lot of tools for scoring your emails. The one that I prefer is called E-filtrate. You can check it out at:

http://myQuickPayPro.com/qpp.cgi?adminid=3054&id=91007

which is where you can also get the report mentioned above.

What I like about E-filtrate is that it’s a browser-based system that allows you to score an email, suggests 3-7 substitutes for each trigger word (that you can make right within the program), and even allows you to do test sends to confirm that your email will get through.

The system also allows you to check to see if your domain/IP is blacklisted. If your domain is blacklisted, then all email from that domain is blocked by certain ISPs. So you could have a “perfect” email, and it could still not get through. The solution there is to get the domain de-listed or to send from a different domain.

Once you have a reliable system in place for “quality controlling” your email communications, *then* you’re ready to put your list building on steroids. Then you’re ready to set up all kinds of joint ventures, and benefit from that huge, responsive list.

Implement the simple steps outlined above today and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Something this simple can multiply your profits many times over. It can actually be the one thing that turns a struggling business into a major success

Copyright 2004 Willie Crawford

About The Author

Willie Crawford is a corporate president, published author, seminar speaker and host, tele-seminar speaker and host, retired military officer, karate black belt, network marketing trainer, and lifetime student of marketing. He shows people how to actually generate substantial income on-line using very simple SYSTEMS. An example of such a system can be studied and duplicated at: http://ProfitMagician.com